


Little Talks

by cosmicaces



Category: Gigantic (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-07-25
Packaged: 2019-06-15 22:54:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15423453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmicaces/pseuds/cosmicaces
Summary: Imani finds Beckett alone outside and decides to join her.





	Little Talks

“It’s a nice night.” Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Beckett turn to look at her. Although her face betrayed no emotion, Imani was able to spot the momentary look of surprise that flickered in her eyes.

“Agreed.” Pause. “So what brings ya out here, Captain?”

“I could ask the same of you.”

“Well, I asked first.” Imani turned towards her. Whatever surprise the new recruit had felt at her comment was gone, replaced by her usual stone-like expression. 

“I saw you standing out here and figured that you would’ve appreciated some company.” It faltered.

“Oh. Thanks.”

“How about you?”

“Hm?”

“Why are you out here?” Beckett tapped her finger against the railing.

“I wanted to look at the stars.” She pointed towards a star. “See that one? It doesn’t have a name, but it marks the constellation of the ‘Sky Chariot’, that thing that the priests say those Eternals use to guide us.”

“I’m not seeing it.”

“Here: stand where I’m standing.” Imani looked at her, curious, before taking her place. Then, Beckett reached for her hand before suddenly halting. “...Mind if I take your hand?”

“Go ahead.” Beckett guided her hand, directing her index finger at a small, bright star.

“See it now?”

“Mhm.”

“From there…” Slowly, she traced out the shape of a ship among the stars, starting at the bow, traveling to the mast, sailing over the stern, and completing the shape with the hull. “...aaaand done.” Beckett let go of her hand and propped her elbow up on the railing. “It’s pretty nifty, right?” Imani nodded, staring up at the constellation. She had no idea that the rocketeer knew how to read the stars.

“Mind me asking where you learned how to decipher constellations?”

“Books. Star charts.”

“Why?”

“Did I learn?” She shrugged. “Guess I figured that it’d be useful. I mean, I was learning how to be a pilot at the time and I knew that if I ever got lost, the stars would help me find my way.”

“What if it was cloudy?”

“Then I’d just set up camp and wait for the clouds to roll by. Or just keep moving. I mean, if you’re lost, might as well try and discover something new.” There was a faint smile on her lips. Not a forced, toothy grin, but a genuine smile. “My turn.” She turned to face Imani. “Where’d ya learn how to shoot?”

“Home. It was normal where I lived.”

“Where did you live?”

“Amadi.” 

“Oh.” The smile faded. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Silence. “How about you? Where did you live?”

“Don’t know. Well,” she took a deep breath, “I don’t know where I originally lived. I grew up in an orphanage operated by the Tesserus Collective. ‘Bout as awful as you’d expect it to be.”

“Can I ask how?” Beckett rubbed the back of her neck, a distant look in her eyes.

“They didn’t really care about us. The staff, I mean. We’d have to get up early in the morning, eat some kinda slop for breakfast, and then it was classes. Telling us about their findings and junk. Sometime in between, we’d have cold lunch before returning to those classes. Once that was finally over, we were allowed to run out into the courtyard and play till we were called in for dinner. Which, by the way, was also cold. After that, we were brought to our rooms and the cycle begins again.” She paused. “Sometimes, we would decide to break the rules. We’d sleep late, sneak food into class, or climb over the fence and make a break for the town. We’d always get caught, brought to the headmaster’s office, scolded, and then be forced to sit in a small room while hearing about what we missed in class. For extra punishment, we would have to miss both lunch and dinner while having to wear this...band around our wrist that showed that we were a troublemaker. It was kinda like a strike system. Too many bands in a short amount of time would result in you being sent to the headmaster’s office before being taken away. Don’t know where, though. Didn’t really stick around to find out, either.” Beckett ran her fingers through her hair. A quirk that she does when she’s uneasy, Imani's noticed. “You ever write to them?”

“To who?”

“Your parents.” Imani shook her head. “Why not?”

“Never really find time to.” It was a small lie. One that didn’t go undetected, based on Beckett’s frown. However, she didn’t say anything about it. Probably figured that it was best not to ask.

Imani looked at Beckett, raising an eyebrow when she noticed that the rocketeer had shuffled closer. That aside...this was the first time Imani’s actually seen her this relaxed. She wasn’t even hiding her emotions anymore, showing Imani that she was calm, lost in thought. It was nice, seeing her like this.

What felt like a half hour had passed before Beckett spoke up.

“I’m gonna go turn in for the night.”

“You do that.” She started to walk away.

“Oh, Imani?”

“Hm?”

“...Thanks. I really did appreciate your company.”

“As I did yours.”

With that, she left, leaving Imani alone underneath the moonlit sky.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a drabble I wrote sometime in the early morning to kinda just put my interpretation of these two into words.


End file.
